Samuel pelton



S. PELTON.

. I Thrashing Machihe.

No. 44,374. Patented. Sept. 20,1864.

N. PETERS. Pho1 Lilhognphnn Wnhinglnn. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL PELTON, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO FELL, PELTON &BREARLEY.

THRASHER AND SEPARATOR- Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.44,374. dated September 20,1864.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL PELTON, of Trenton, in the county of Mercerand State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Thrasher andSeparator Combined; and I do hereby declare the following to be a fulland exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a plan of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevationthereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same, theplane of section being indicated by the lineww, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal section in the line y 9 Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detached view.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention relates to a machine of peculiar construction, in whichthe grain is first separated from the hulls, then passed with the strawupon perforated shakers through which the grain falls onto inclinedtables or boards, whereby it conducted to a riddle and to the action ofa fan-blast so as to be separated from chaff, dust, &c., all as will behereinafter fully explained.

In order that others skilled in the art to which my invention appertainsmay be enabled to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed todescribe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A A A may represent various parts otaframe, upon one end of which is'mounted a hopper, B, feedingtable B, andcylinder (J, the periphery of the latter being studded with projectionsor teeth 0, which work between corresponding projections, d, on aconcave, D, and thereby separate the grain from the bulls in passingbetween said cylinder and concave. The cylinder 0 has upon theprojecting end of its journal a pulley, c, from which may pass a band,c', from the main driving-pulley 0 from which motion is communicated tothe cylinder 0 and to all the other operating parts of the machine. Fromthe concave D the grain and straw passes onto a perforated shaker, E,through which a portion of the grain falls,the remainder of the grain,together with the straw,being conveyed to another perforated shaker, E,at the end of which the straw is discharged after the grain has beenseparated from it by passing through the perforations in the shakers Eand E. The shaker E may be inclined reversely to the shaker E, in orderthat no grain may pass off at the end of the former with the straw. Theshakers E E are suspended from the side pieces, A A A by pivoted hangersa a and the said shakers are moved in opposite directions by pitmanrodsF F F, which are connected to a double crank-shaft, F, the latter beingturned through the medium of a band,f, that passes over a pulley,f, onthe end of the shaft F, and over a double pulley, c, on thecylindershaft. Beneath the respective shakers E E are grain-boards G G,from which the grain falls onto an inclined platform H. The grainboard Gis suspended from the side pieces A A independently of the shaker E, bymeans of pivoted hangers a a; but motion is imparted to the grain-boardGr from the shaker E by a connecting-rod, I, Fig. 3, which is madeelastic at its ends, in order that it may conform to the differentpositions which the grainboard assumes with relation to the shaker 1".

Now, when the crank-shaft F is rotated, the shakers E E not only receivea horizontal reciprocatory motion in opposite directions, but thepeculiar manner in which they are suspended by the hangers a a adaptsthem to have a simultaneous vertical movement, and thus when the machineis in operation the shakers act to first expand or draw out the straw,and then crowd the same together in such a way that it will beimpossible for any grain to pass off with the straw at the end of theshaker E. This tossing and vibrating of the shakers E E, besidesrendering more effectual the separation of the grain from the straw,causes the position of the latter to be such that its weight will becontinually counterbalanced on the respective shakers, and hence whenthe machine is placed upon a wagon or wheels, so that it may be conveyedfrom place to place, the motion thereof will be equalized and steady.The grain-board G, while moving with the shaker E, is caused by the rod1 to receive a similar vibratory motion in a horizontal direction; butat the same time the grain-board G has a vertical motion in the oppositedirection to that of the shaker, and by this means while the shaker E istossing the'hay in one direction the grain is thrown in the oppsitedirection upon the board G, and it is manifest that the described mannerof suspending and connecting the shaker and grain-board would producethis tossing of the hay and grain whether they were inclined or not.

g may represent fingers or pron gs similiar to those ofa rake and whichproject through slots gfig in the respective siakersE E. The fingers gare secured upon a transverse shaft, 9, and the fingers g on acorresponding shaft, 9 and on their outer ends the shafts g g are formedwith cranks g 9 db se cranks g g are connected together by a rod 9 whichis pivoted at g to the stationary side piece A of the frame, so thatwhen the shakers E E are in operation the fingers g y will bealternately elevated an d depressed, as represented in Fig. 3. Thefingers g g are employed as accessory to the motion of the respectiveshakers E E to expand and contract the hay in the manner described.Longitudinal racks e a, secured upon the shakers E E, cause the hay tomove gradually in the direction of the rear end of the shaker E, whereit passes off after the grain has been entirely separated from it.

Themanner of operating the fingers g y will be better understood byreference to Fig. 5. From the platform H the grain passes into a shoe,J, which has a shaking movement communicated to it from the shaker Ethrough the medium of connecting-rods j and pivoted arms j. As the grainpasses from the platform 1.1 into the shoe J, it undergoes the acti m ofa blast from a fan, K, whereby the greater part of the dust, togetherwith the chaff, 850., are separated from the grain and expelled from theshoe J at the opening j said fan being adapted to revolve in a case, K.The fanshaft extends through the case K, and carries a pulley, k, forthe reception of a band, k, from the pulley 0 In the end of the fan-caseK is a valve, K, which is mounted on a pivoted rod, k the respectiveouter ends of which carry weights is k, the

weight 70 being capable of adjustment upon an arm, k

Attached to the rod 7: at the opposite sides 0' the fan-case, are valves70 k Now, if the volume of air in the case K increases to such an extentthat the action of the fan will produce a too powerful blast, then willbe overcome the force by which the'valve K is held in its closedcondition, and said valve will be thrown open to the position shown inFig. 3, the red arrows indicating the direction of the current and thatin which the fan K is rotated. While the valve K is thus opening topermit the escape of the surplus air, the valves 70 k are graduallyelevated, so as to partially close the openings 70 and thereby shut offto the proper extent the current of air which rushes in to the action ofthe fan. By adjusting the weight k in closer proximity with the shaft kthe valve K may be forced open with less pressure from the inside of thecase, and vice versa, and it will be seen that in this manner the blastmay be increased or diminished in force to any desired extent (accordingas the grain is heavy or light) without varying the speed of the severaloperating parts of the machine. vWithin the shoe J is a riddle, J, uponwhich the grain is received from the platform H. The shaking of theriddle J causes the grain to pass through onto the small sieves J J thechaff and greater part of the dust being expelled at the opening 3' asbefore explained. Any dust which may pass through the riddle J with thegrain is sifted through the small riddles or sieves J J and passes outat the openings J the grain being discharged at J J.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newand desire to secure by Letters Patent: 7

1. The combination of two straw-shakers, E E, suspended by hangers a aand moved simultaneously in opposite directions by a double-crank shaftand pitman-rods, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of the shaker E and grain-board G, having a combinedvertical and longitudinal motion, so as to toss the straw one way andthe grain the other, sub-- SAMUEL PELTON.

Witnesses U. D. SMITH, O. L. DU 13018.

